Ninth Report in the Annual Dealmakers’ Intentions Series
In the last three years, life sciences dealmaking has climbed to historic highs. 2015 was an unprecedented year for the industry with deals valued at approximately $425 billion (including financing, M&A and partnering/asset purchases)—more than double the deals seen in 2014. In 2016, dealmaking activity was still high in historical terms, although at $275 billion, it was well below 2015 levels. This drop in 2016 was primarily attributed to M&A activity, which fell to $114 billion from $278 billion in 2015.
Based on the first quarter of 2017, we are seeing dealmaking activity continue to level out closer to historical norms, although we project this year will still rank among the top three in value since our first Dealmakers’ Intentions report nine years ago. To gain more insight into what the rest of 2017 holds, Syneos Health Consulting surveyed dealmakers across the industry to assess their intentions for the next 12 months and put these findings into context for the year ahead. This year, we surveyed 107 members of the biopharma community who participate on both sides of deals and who have predominantly executive-level influence on decision-making. This report captures their expectations for deal activity, supply and demand for specific assets at different development stages, and various approaches to valuation.
Respondents were divided among the executive (48 percent), business development (40 percent), corporate development (7 percent) and finance (2 percent) functions. A majority (57 percent of respondents) reported they were in both in- and out-licensing roles, while 24 percent reported being in out-licensing roles only and 18 percent reported being in in-licensing roles only.
